This week’s edition!

Representative Kathleen Dillingham of Oxford has been elected House Republican Leader for the 129thMaine Legislature. Beginning her third term, Kathleen represents House District 72, which is comprised of Mechanic Falls, Otisfield, and Oxford.

While serving in the Legislature, Dillingham continues to work with her father, aunts, and uncles on the family farm. She is also working toward a degree in Public Administration.

Dillingham began working in the Maine House in 2001 as an administrative assistant and quickly moved through the ranks to serve as the Legislative Aide to House Leadership. Her humble beginnings guide her inclusive, results-driven approach.

Her introduction to politics didn’t start there, however. Her father served as a Selectman and Representative from Oxford. Her uncle, Philip Jackson, served in the Maine House and Senate; her uncle, Caldwell Jackson, served as an Oxford County Commissioner and Selectman; one aunt managed the Blaine House through four Governors; and another aunt served as a District Representative for U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe.

Representative Dillingham takes pride in being the first Hispanic Maine Republican leader. Her father met her mother in Puerto Rico while he was stationed there in the Army. The youngest of three children, Dillingham spent time living in different places in the U.S. and Europe before settling back in the Oxford Hills area when her father returned to finish his military career.